


the bigger it gets the more transparent it is

by semi_vegetarian



Category: NCT (Band), NCT Dream
Genre: Alternate Universe - Chewing Gum MV, Comedy bordering on crack, Gen, M/M, jk it is crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 19:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7946305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/semi_vegetarian/pseuds/semi_vegetarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Mark follows the Disappeared Dad trope, and no one (read: Haechan) is having it. Also, Jisung needs to tone down on the sugar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the bigger it gets the more transparent it is

**Author's Note:**

> The title’s a line from the Chewing Gum (Chinese ver.) MV. Let’s get on the NCT train y’all!

The door slams open and Haechan storms in, his face pinched in irritation. The residents of the room all look up from the outburst, sees it’s Haechan, and promptly return to what they were previously doing. 

Jeno accidentally catches Haechan’s eyes, and he smiles hesitantly, only to have Haechan screech, “Stop smiling, Jeno! People are dying and children in Africa are starving!”

That’s when everyone collectively thinks, “Oh. This must be about Mark again.”

Haechan dramatically plops to his bed. He lets out a sigh, and when none of his roommates react, he sighs louder.

Chenle, sweet, sweet Chenle, looks up from his My First Book of KOREAN WORDS: An ABC Rhyming Book and says, “Are you okay. Hyung.”

“Oh, Chenle!” Haechan shouts, overreacting as usual and probably up to something, “You’re the only dongsaeng who cares.” At this, he pointedly glares at Jisung who, as usual, is obsessively counting his Chewing Gum™ stash that he keeps hidden in a treasure chest under his bed.

“Anyway, today Mark-hyung-“

“Everybody stop what they’re doing!” Jisung cries out, hands frantically clutching his dyed mushroom hair, “Someone took a piece of my Chewing Gum™!”

Renjun frowns from where he has latched onto Chenle and comments, “I thought we share those? Shouldn’t it be our Chewing Gum™?”

Chenle, who stopped listening to Haechan after noticing his hyung looked his devious self anyway so whatever his damage was, he would get over it, muttered something in Chinese, glancing at the treasure chest of goodies Jisung was taking stocks of.

Jisung finishes recounting and glares at Renjun, “Hyung, did you take one without my permission?”

Renjun shakes his head, jostling Chenle in the process, “Nope. But I saw Jaeminnie hanging around your bed yesterday.”

“Not me either!” Jaemin says, a bright smile on his face rivalling Jeno’s. He grins even wider when he continues, “Stop talking shit, Renjunnie.”

“So who did?” Jisung whispers, warily glancing at his hyungs. Not for the first time, he regrets agreeing to room with his pre-pubescent friends.

Haechan, realizing he was no longer the center of attention and that things were getting ridiculous without his doing, stands up and puts his hands on his hips to seem intimidating. He’s not scaring anyone, but the rest think that it’s better to lull him in a false sense of seniority instead of bringing up the fact that Haechan has a habit of starting pranks as a defense mechanism for any extreme emotion.

“Alright, everyone shut up. There are more important matters in hand,” Haechan announces, walking to the middle of the room, “Like how Mark-hyung, your dear appa, doesn’t seem to be around anymore to take care of our children. Aren’t any of you bothered by it?”

Chenle answers waveringly, “Mark-hyung has a lot of friends. He is a member of other unit groups.”

Renjun beams, “Chenle says-“

“We all heard what he said, Renjun.” Haechan snaps, “Chenle can actually speak on his own.”

“But what he said is true, you know. Hyung works hard.” Jaemin says, blinding everyone with the intensity of his smile. Jaemin is cute. He himself knows this, so he uses that to his advantage by being blunt and cutthroat at the same time, “Also, we’re the same age. How can we be your children? It can’t be the mental age you factored in because that would make you younger than Jisung.”

Haechan glares at Jaemin with so much hate, the other occupants of the room feel bad that Jaemin was born without a filter or the ability to zip his mouth shut. Everyone knows Haechan is touchy about Mark, because he thinks no one else should be shipped with their hyung other than him. Also, Haechan’s in love with Mark, but that’s rooted in some other back story too complicated for the youngins. But the bottomline is this: Jaemin’s a nitwit, but Haechan even more so.

“I would tell you to go to your room,” Haechan says in a condescending tone, “But we’re already trapped in one.”

Jaemin replies without missing a beat, “You’re an idiot.”

In his side of the room, Jeno is still smiling at everyone.

 

\+ C-c-c-c-c-c-Chewing Gum +

 

Mark is worried. His new roommates don’t ever seem to leave their room unless its to sneak in sweets, and even then they don’t walk. They use hoverboards. Freaking hoverboards. 

They also have a strange addiction to Chewing Gum™, but Mark isn’t one to judge. To each their own, after all. But their obsession was getting out of hand. There were wads of slimy gum stuck to their closet’s roof, and if they aren’t careful, that’s going to get them in trouble with the RA. 

Mark lets out a sigh as he makes his way to the room that houses the motley crew he’s stuck with. At least when he roomed with the guys over at 127, the weirdest thing about them was that they liked to settle arguments through playing some off mutation of table tennis and soccer using an inflatable ball the size of Pluto. But other than that, the guys of 127 were great to be around. So, it really sucked when they kicked Haechan out because the latter wouldn’t stop messing with their food. Of course, Mark had to leave too because wherever Haechan went, Mark went. It was, like, a rule of thumb or whatever.

But it isn’t like Mark hates his new roommates. If anything, he feels an overwhelming sense of protectiveness over them. He knows they have a long way to go before they could become real close, but Mark knows they’re taking baby steps. 

Literal baby steps, because Jisung and Chenle are fetuses.

Elated at the thought that his life with his roommates is gonna get better, Mark pops open the Chewing Gum™ an uncharacteristically shy Haechan had handed him that morning and hums a happy tune.

 

\+ C-c-c-c-c-c-Chewing Gum +

 

“It keeps happening,” Jisung murmurs, clutching his bed sheets and eyes moving deliriously, “My stash is dwindling.”

Jeno sympathetically pats the maknae’s back, a smile still on his face but a sad one. A noona somewhere in the world weeps.

“Maybe this room’s haunted by a ghost! A Chewing Gum™ ghost!” Renjun says, his two cents earning a groan from everyone except for Chenle whose head fractionally nods in silent agreement. Chenle thinks Renjun is cute, but he’s too excitable and gullible for his own good. In other words, he’s gonna agree to whatever Renjun says until it blows up on his face so that Chenle can have something to laugh about. It’s free entertainment that conquers language barriers.

“And maybe,” Jaemin continues, a sick grin plastered on his face, “The ghost wants a sacrifice! I vote we give the ghost Jeno, because I need to be the only smiley one around here.”

“Jaemin,” Haechan says in a placating manner, “We’ve all chosen to ignore you because its healthier that way.”

Jeno nods in agreement, choosing to not dignify Jaemin with a response. He really doesn’t talk much, but who needs words with visuals like his, right? Also, the silence adds character and mystic, which would be beneficial to a group with Haechan as a member.

Jisung lets outs a sound of frustration, “Hyungs! It’s been weeks, and someone (“or something!” Renjun adds helpfully) has been going around taking from the sacred Chewing Gum™ stash. I know it’s not any of you, because I would've known if your breath smelled different from the usual.”

The rest look at each other warily: Jisung smells their breath on a regular basis. What else does the little devil smell? More importantly, why???

They’re surprised out of their reverie when Jisung gasps, “Mark-hyung. I haven’t seen Mark-hyung in ages.”

Jaemin gives Jisung a deadpan look, “Mark-hyung is promoting in other unit groups. So he’s been absent for a while, that doesn’t mean he’s stealing from our stash.”

“It makes sense!” Haechan suddenly screeches, “And he thought he could get away with it, that talented cutie.”

“That doesn’t clear anything up. Why would hyung-“

“Because he misses us.” Renjun murmurs solemnly. He grabs the hands of those nearest to him, which happened to be Chenle’s and Jaemin’s. Jaemin tries to recoil, but Renjun’s grip is like quicksand- struggle, and it’ll pull you in even more. “He wants to take a part of us whenever he’s gone.”

The residents of the room fall silent. They aren’t one for sentiment, but they’re just stating facts when they say Mark is happiest with them. After all, Mark has been forced to grow up too quickly and too soon. But in their midst, they know Mark is complacent and is able to act his age without a care in the world. They haven’t been a group long, but they know they are one that will prosper. Time isn’t a gauge for how tight a friendship is, because although they’ve only roomed for a short while, their bond is like no other. And if Mark occasionally steals a Chewing Gum™ to feel a little less lonely, then…

“Let’s beat him up.” Haechan says fondly.

 

\+ C-c-c-c-c-c-Chewing Gum +

 

Mark should have seen it coming. It was too suspicious, the quiet. He had gone to his room, tired and ready to retire after being with the other groups. When he got in, Mark was fairly surprised to see that all of his roommates were already tucked in and asleep. Even Haechan was in bed, and he always waited up for Mark.

Poor, unsuspecting Mark thought nothing of the silence and stumbled to his own bed, ready to become dead to the world.

He had barely gotten his covers over him when he hears a battle cry.

 

\+ C-c-c-c-c-c-Chewing Gum +

 

Mark hadn’t gone down without a fight, but Jisung’s tenacity coupled with Haechan’s misplaced tickle fights had overpowered him. His lunatic roommates dragged him and tied him up using the wads of pink Chewing Gum™ shaped to imitate a rope. Mark prays the Chewing Gum™ used wasn’t chewed up, but the stickiness of the rope said otherwise.

“What a workout!” Haechan comments as he pats Jeno in the back, “I forgot how moving too much felt.”

“It’s the hoverboards,” Jaemin sniffs, “They elevate us, only to bring us down.”

“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Mark frantically begs. He had actually stopped struggling around the time he accidentally hit Chenle in the scuffle, and the latter had given him a hurt look. It was such a heartbreaking experience that Mark wanted to kill himself for even grazing Chenle. Still, it doesn’t alter the fact that his roommates have gone crazy and have teamed up to do what, he wasn’t sure. Mark thinks he needs to figure that out first before committing seppuku for laying a finger on China’s mini Justin Bieber.

Mark’s captives all stand a little straighter, uncertainty etched on their faces. After a few seconds, Renjun nudges Jaemin who lets out a defeated sigh.

“Okay, okay.” Jaemin delicately places a hand on Mark’s shoulder, looking serious and, to be frank, constipated. There’s a reason Jaemin smiles all the time, and it ain’t because he’s happy 24/7. “Hyung, have you been stealing Chewing Gum™ from us?”

That seemed to have triggered Jisung’s hostility, because he suddenly pushes Jaemin away and shakes Mark so hard by the shoulders Mark could feel the part of his brain responsible for his multilingualism rattle. For a moment, Mark doesn’t know how to think coherently in one language. He barely catches what Jisung is screaming at him, but hears snippets like, “team synergy is lost”, “need sugar intake to deal with you deranged people” and “the Chewing Gum™ is sacred!”. 

“Chewing-“ Mark feels lost. More lost than when he was told he was going to debut for the third time, “You mean those things Haechan gives me every morning?”

Everything falls into a standstill, giving Mark enough time to gather his wits. The Chewing Gum™ rope had loosened in Jisung’s attempt to bartend Mark into a fancy drink, allowing Mark to breathe a little and take in what was happening. He watches his roommates turn like clockwork as they slowly look at Haechan. It was eerie how silent everyone had become, but it was better than the cacophony of Jaemin trying to find sanity and Renjun translating Jisung’s threats for Chenle.

It would’ve been nice if Haechan had looked a little guilty or repentant. As it was, Haechan was Haechan and that meant everyone else’s feelings can go suck it.

“Haha! You’ve all fallen for my trap!” Haechan declares, hands on his hips and stance wide. It was the most annoying thing the others had ever seen, and they had once witnessed their Mark-hyung try to aegyo his way out of trouble from the strict RA. 

Haechan, still unable to sense that the atmosphere had turned sour, continued on with his tirade like the stereotypical villain he is, “And I didn’t even have to lift a finger! Well, I did lift a finger, but not all of them.” He wiggles his fingers in both hands for emphasis. The idiot.

“Haechan,” Renjun cries out, already caught up in the strange narrative Haechan had placed all of them in, “What did you do?”

“Oh ho, if only any of you cared for my welfare, then it wouldn’t have gotten this far.” Haechan started pacing, except he really couldn’t go far because their room was already cramped without seven unruly boys playing around in their hoverboards. Freaking hoverboards. 

“It was the perfect plan,” Haechan says, lowering his high-pitched voice (to no avail), “I gave Mark-hyung contraband Chewing Gum™ every morning. And because he was always absent, everyone’s suspicions would be raised that it was him who kept taking from our chest! Thereby prompting all of you to capture him, so he could be with us. Forever!” 

Haechan breaks out into his own weird version of an evil laughter that’s more giggling to be honest, but nobody joins in. In fact, nobody was even remotely moving. 

That’s when everyone collectively thinks, “Oh. This is a Mark thing.”

The quiet response finally got to Haechan, who immediately stopped laughing. The whole room was drowned in even more silence, and the only thing that was audible was someone’s noisy breathing. Probably Renjun’s.

The pregnant pause is surprisingly broken by Chenle, who says in perfect and unaccented Korean, “So all this was just a messed-up diabolical plan for you to monopolize Mark-hyung’s time because you were getting jealous he was hanging out more with the other unit groups, right?”

Haechan physically reels at the accusation and at the fact Chenle just spoke better Korean than him. No one says a thing though, until Renjun mutters, “Um. Chenle says we’ve all been played.”

The rest don’t know whether Renjun really didn’t register that Chenle had spoken in flawless Korean, or maybe was just projecting his own thoughts using Chenle’s lack of fluency(?) as an opportunity. It probably wouldn’t be the first time, they all bet.

Mark, who had been silent the whole time, head down and looking pensive, finally spoke, “Hey, guys. I want to apologize.”

They all stepped back, except for Haechan. It wasn’t polite, but the meaningless and much too time-consuming circumstances they were placed in seemed to have culminated into the shove Mark needed to realize that Haechan had missed him, and they weren’t going to give them space or anything like that. If anything, the other five boys deserved the spectacle after the emotional mess they were, thanks to Haechan, intentionally dragged into through some manipulation.

Mark finally looked up, determination on his face as he continued, “I’m really sorry, everyone. I should be focusing on us, not on anyone else. Us. I’m sorry I never saw the signs that we were falling apart.”

They all thought at this point that Mark was being too dramatic. But Haechan was getting teary eyed and Jisung looked so uncomfortable with the sudden sentimentality that Mark’s grand revelation was too good to interrupt now.

“Let’s not give up though.” Mark looks ridiculous: he was still tied up and because the ambush happened in the dead of the night, he also looked, well, dead. Still, the sincerity in his voice compelled everyone in the room to listen. “We’re here, we’re together, and that’s what matters.”  
“I’m yours. Truly.” Mark glances at Haechan to catch his eyes, “And Haechan….Donghyuck-ah….” Mark smiles, “I missed you too.” 

Haechan grins back, elated.

The members cheer and Jeno smiles. There is no moral to the story.

 

**Author's Note:**

> "Can we please go to sleep now?" Jaemin whines, "I can't be an energizer bunny without my beauty sleep."
> 
> Mark nods in agreement as he gets untangled from the Chewing Gum™ rope with the help of the other members, "I agree. That was a long ass ride."


End file.
